Balanced rotary helical Actuator

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a novel helical dual-center engagement converting mechanism and its applications in fluid-powered actuation system, more particularly to a highly reliable, simple, powerful and balanced and less expensive helical rotary actuator. This actuator comprises a self-balanced linear/rotary dual-center engagement converter, compact porting systems and easy manufacturing modules and various bodies and shaft interface with other components. This actuator also provides a rotary position control and backlash eliminating mechanism to meet various requirements with lighter weight, smaller size and higher accuracy of position and can be interfaced with different machines, such as subsea valves, earthmoving equipment, construction equipment, lifting equipment, landing gears, militarily equipment and medical devices, robotic and artificial leg and arm joints.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a division of application Ser. No. US 2012/0079901 A1 filed onSep. 15, 2011 by Jianchao Shu, now pending to be allowed.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

No

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

No

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a novel helical dual-center engagementconverting mechanism and its applications in fluid-powered actuationsystem, more particularly to a highly reliable, simple, powerful andbalanced and less expensive helical rotary actuator. This actuatorcomprises a self-balanced linear/rotary dual-center engagementconverter, compact porting systems, easy manufacturing modules, variousbody configuration and shaft interfaces with other components. Thisactuator also provides a rotary position control and backlasheliminating mechanism to meet high precision requirements with lighterweight, smaller size and higher accuracy of position and can beinterfaced with different machines, such as subsea valves, earthmovingequipment, construction equipment, lifting equipment, landing gears,militarily equipment and robotic and medical devices, artificial arm andleg joints.

Conventional fluid-powered helical actuators have been used in manyindustries for years, it is based on an old helical linear/rotaryconverter mechanism and includes a cylindrically shaped housing and twomoving parts: a shaft and an annular piston. Helical spline teethmachined on the shaft engage a matching complement of splines on aninside diameter of the piston, an outside diameter of the piston carriesa second set of helical splines that engages a ring gear integral withthe housing. While conventional linear pistons with pivot joint, therack and pinion and vane actuators still have majority market share overthe helical rotary actuators, the reason is that conventionalfluid-powered helical rotary actuators have many unsolved problems anddisadvantages; (1) low efficiency, about 60%-70% efficiency for helicalrotary actuator is in comparison with that of 90 to 98% for the rack andpinion or vane actuators, so it prevents the actuator from low pressureapplications, there are fewer helical pneumatic actuators in the marketin comparison with rack and pinion and vane actuators, it not onlywastes lot of materials and energy but also can not be used for limitedspace or restrict weight applications (2) high unbalanced thrust, theunbalanced thrust is still an unsolved problem, it requires moreinternal parts to balance the thrust, so length of actuator becomes verylonger, size of the actuator becomes bigger even there are some balancedhelical actuators in the prior art, none of the trials has beencommercial success (3) backlashes, due to cumulative clearances of twosets of helical teeth engagements, it increases the impact on the teethand reduces the accuracy of moving position, life of actuator, someefforts were made in the prior art, but none of trials has beencommercial success (4) high stress concentration on cylindrical bodieswith helical teeth either by pinging, welding or integrating, it hasbeen struggled for years to seek the solution, under high pressure3000-5000 psi, the root of helical teeth on cylindrical body generateshigh stress concentration, this structural problem not only reduces theload capacity and increase the actuator size and weights, but also itcan cause sudden break down based on Paris law and is considered to beunreliable and unsafe for critical operations where linear piston withpivot joint devices which have the same rotation function still play akey role in earthmoving equipment and landing gears (5) restrictinstallation position, most helical actuators are designed for eithervertical or horizontal position, they are not suitable for any positionbetween them, due to lack of proper structure and bearing (6) lack ofposition control, due to lack of control of rotary position and fail toclose or open function, it prevents the actuator from criticalapplications such as military equipment, robotic devices and valvecontrol (7) lack of interface function, most of the actuator bodies arecylindrical shape, such a shape is difficult for three dimensional joint(8) low reliability, according to Failure Modes and Effects Analysis(FMEA), a piston with internal and external helical teeth has thehighest severity, with lack of redundancy, the conventional helicalactuator never can compete with linear piston with pivot joint incritical applications like landing gears (9) structural inferiority (a)most cylindrical body cannot sustain high structural bending load andcompression load, it prevent it from those applications like rotationwith high bending or compression (b) material incomparability, sincematerial requirement of mechanical property for body is very differentfrom that of teeth, for the body, it requires high strength, ductile,while for the teeth, high hardness and wearing resistance are the keyrequirements, since the helical teethes are a part of the body, so mostdesigns are to put the body strength first and to scarify teeth design,as a result the teeth with soft surface will be damaged first or woreout fast even with hydraulic fluid (10) difficult and expensivemanufacturing, it is difficult and expensive to make helical teeth,specially internal helical teeth or internal splines on the body as anintegral part, it not only makes the manufacturing process moredifficult if not impossible, it is impossible to replace the teethalone, since there is no modulization design in the actuator,conventional actuator manufacturing require large inventory for eachsize actuator (11) inlet and outlet ports are far away and notstandardized, so it is difficult to connect the ports, especially incase of counterbalanced valve is required, additional tube and adapteris needed, it not only increase cost but also reduce reliability, anyaddition joint adapter and tube can cause leak.

In order to overcome the disadvantages or solve the problems of theconventional fluid-powered helical rotary actuators, many efforts havebeen made in the prior arts. There are four approaches to improve theconventional helical actuators in the prior arts, but those approacheswork against each other within a limited scope.

The first approach is to improve the conversion mechanism. U.S. Pat. No.3,255,806 to Kenneth H. Meyer (1966), U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,229 to JamesLeonard Geraci (1978) show a approach is to use a number of keys andkeyway to prevent the piston sleeve from rotation under linear force,this conversion mechanism did work, but there were two drawbacks, one isto waste large internal body space due to the keyway, the other is tocause high stress concentration on the body, under 3000 -5000 psipressure, such stress condition is unsafe and prohibited, likewise otheractuators are provided with splined design to prevent the piston fromrotation for valve actuations, in addition, it is expensive to make, somany other solutions came out like U.S. Pat. No. 1,056,616 to C. EWright (1913), U.S. Pat. No.6,793,194 B1 to Joseph Grinberg (2004) theapproach is to use two bars to prevent piston sleeve from rotation, thedrawback is to waste a large interior housing space and it is restrictedto smaller actuator applications, finally current widely acceptablehelical actuator is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,610 to R. O. Aarvold(1966) disclosed a device with a pair helical gearing means between ahousing and a shaft in an opposite direction, but it did not prevent thepiston rotation, rather it is used as medium to generate a reactiontorque between the housing and the shaft and in turn to rotate theshaft, the drawback is to waste internal space and more energy to rotatethe piston and increase backlash and cost, a desirable design for thisconversion mechanism is that only rotary part should be a rotary shaft,not a body or a piston, moreover the additional rotation will wearbearings and o rings faster and more than under a linear movement only,in addition the arrangement greatly restricts an engaged diameter of thepiston, as a result, the output torque is greatly reduced, again, highstress concentration on the body still exists, even it become moredifficulty to manufacture with internal and external teeth in a piston.

The second approach is to balance thrust force and ease consequences ofthe unbalanced forces on helical actuators, U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,806 toKenneth H. Meyer (1966) shows an actuator with two actuator assembled inan opposite teeth and direction, the design become more difficulty formachining the keyways on the longer body, other effort made is shown onU.S. Pat. No. 4,745,847 to Julian D. Voss (1988) discloses a new designwith four parts; a shaft, a housing, a linear piston, a rotation piston,it causes more leak paths and make the actuators more complicated andless reliable, finally U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,610 to R. O. Aarvold (1966)shows two sets of helical teeth in an opposite direction on a piston, itbalances the thrust force on the piston but not on the shaft or housing,this arrangement causes a constant tension on the piston duringlinear/rotary converting, so the piston is subject to torsion well astension while the load is still applied to shaft and housing, as aresult the size of piston is increased while the housing and shaft areunderused, so far there is no successful full balance design in themarket.

The third approach is to simplify the manufacturing process, there isfew development in the field, the most internal helical teeth are as anintegral part of a housing or shaft, few welding process or piningprocess have been tried, but for the current pressure vessel safetystandards, those practices under 3000-5000 psi pressure are consideredto be unsafe, so stronger, heaver body or shaft with a integral helicalteeth are only the solution for now, there is no improvement in thefiled

The fourth approach is to ease the backlash and improve performances ofthe actuator, a typical example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,128 toHoward M. Geyer (1957) and U.S. Pat. No.4,858,486 to Paul P. Meyer(1989), a complex mechanical adjustable devices are introduced, but inmost applications, such a design is considered to be impractical or toocostly due to inherent disadvantage of clearance of two set of helicalteeth., the fundamental adjustment mechanism is still unchanged.

So the fluid-powered actuation industry has long sought means ofimproving the performance of fluid-powered actuation system, eliminatingthe unbalanced thrust increate efficiency, increate integrity of thebody strength, and increasing reliability and accuracy rotary positionwith less cost.

In conclusion, insofar as I am aware, no fluid-powered actuation systemformerly developed provides higher system performances with amodularization structure, less parts, highly efficient, versatile,reliable, easy manufacturing at low cost.

SUMMARY

This invention provides a simple, highly reliable, modular, compact,efficient and balanced rotary actuator. This actuator comprises a noveland improved helical linear/rotary converting modules, compact portingsystems and shaft/body interface modules and is much simpler formanufacturing and assembly. It is constructed as converting modules andshaft/body modules, which are easily connected to various components. Italso provides rotary position controllers for 90, 180 or 360 degreeswith no backlash and lighter weight, smaller space and higher accuracyof position and can be used for a combination device of a hinge androtary actuator or a rotary actuator either under high axial load orgravity load between vertical and horizontal positions, or for quickcycle, high vibration, quick opening or closing applications and othercritical applications to replace linear pistons with pivot joint devicesor landing gears for aircraft or artificial or robotic leg and armjoints

The helical linear/rotary converting module can be constructed as abody, a converting unit and a shaft, the converting unit can beconstructed as one piston having a two-center linear engagement meansand a helical rotary engagement means with the body and the shaft, thetwo-center linear engagement means is constructed as a pair of a centricand eccentric section which are engaged with a centric bore andeccentric bore between the converting piston and the body or shaft, thehelical rotary engagement means is constructed with a pair of helicalconverting means which includes spline teeth engagement, splinegroove/pin and teeth engagement with balls between the converting pistonand the body or the converting piston and the shaft, the converting unitcan be constructed as two pistons have two pairs of the linearengagement means and rotary engagement means located and moved in anopposite direction. The body can be constructed as one piece a body ortwo piece split bodies, while shaft can be constructed as one piecespart with helical rotary converting means or two-center linearconverting means or multiple pieces parts. The actuator includes variousshapes of bodies for different applications.

The actuator can be constructed with various shape of bodies, thespherical shape of the body is constructed for supporting high axialload both on the shaft or body or installed between vertical andhorizontal positions and sustain high bending and compression loads orwith robotic and artificial arm and leg joints, other shape of body isprovided with one end closed and other end opened for operating rotaryvalve, finally a split body is constructed to receive large engageddiameter of piston with smaller end shaft or large spring to generatereturn force.

The actuator can be constructed with position control devices. One ofthe feature is to combine a vane actuator and helical actuator as oneunit, it not only eliminate backlash but increase output torque andimprove the accuracy of rotary position, other is to provide two hardadjustable hard stop in both ends of rotation of 90, 180, 270 or 360degree. In the manufacturing of the actuator, this invention providesother joint method to separate helical teeth from shaft or body, so thehelical teeth can be manufactured replaced easily at low cost.

Accordingly, besides objects and advantages of the present inventiondescribed in the above patent, several objects and advantages of thepresent invention are:

-   (a) To provide a highly efficient linear/rotary converting mechanism    with less energy, maxim output torque and fewer components.-   (b) To provide a linear/rotary converting mechanism with less stress    concentration, so the mechanism can be more reliable, compact and    still robust for critical applications-   (c) To provide a fluid-powered actuation system with highly optimal    division of functions among the modular members in a balanced    manner, so such a system allows a user to have higher integrity of a    system with fewer components and reduce a system space, leakage and    manufacturing and replacement cost-   (d) To provide a directly coupling means for an actuator and other    components so as to eliminate adapters, reduce the space for their    connection.-   (e) To provide a fully balanced means for an actuator, so the    actuator is constructed with more powerful and reliable mechanism    with less weight, parts and cost.-   (f) To provide a fluid-powered actuation system with actuator, which    has less displaced fluid volumes on both sides of pistons, so the    energy loss can be reduced to a minimum level-   (g) To provide an internal porting means for a fluid-powered    actuation system, the system is not subject to external tube    corrosion and breakdown and has quick response time and can be    either connected through a shaft or body.-   (h) To provide a fluid-powered actuator with high holding torque, so    it is not susceptible to vibration and more stable and can be used    in applications of high vibration, quick cycle.-   (i) To provide a fluid-powered actuation system with gravity balance    mechanism, so the actuator can be used between vertical and    horizontal positions.-   (j) To provide a fluid-powered actuation system without backlash, so    the system becomes more stable and accurate at pre-setting position-   (k) To provide a fluid-powered actuation system with highly    reliable, inherently redundant, intrinsically safe control    functions, so the system can be used for critical applications such    as military operation, medical emergence care/device and aircraft    landing gears-   (l) To provide a produced-friendly, fluid-powered actuation modules    with simple, flexible structures, easy manufacturing and process and    various size and material selection, the modules require simple    manufacturing process and flexible construction methods for    different applications, so a manufacturer for the system can easily    implement rapid product development and outsourcing at lower cost-   (m) To provide a linear-rotary converting device with compact,    adaptable rotary shaft and body. Therefore, the devices can use as a    combination of a hinge joint and rotary actuator for robotic or    artificial arm and leg joints.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from study ofthe following description and the accompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS

Drawing Figures

FIG. 10 is an exploded, quarter cut view of a helical rotary actuatorembodiment of the helical linear/rotary converting mechanism of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.11. Along line B-B.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.11. Along line C-C.

FIG. 14 is a detail view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 13.Along cycle of F.

FIG. 15 is an exploded, quarter cut view of an alternative embodiment ofhelical rotary actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 16 is a front view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.16 along line E-E.

FIG. 18 is a cross view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 16. alongline D-D.

FIG. 19 is an isometric view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 16.

FIG. 20 is an exploded, quarter cut view of an alternative embodiment ofhelical rotary actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 21 is a detail view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 20.along cycle of A

FIG. 22 is a front view of a subassembly of FIG. 20.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the subassembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a cross sectional view of the subassembly of FIG. 22 alongline F-F.

FIG. 25 is a cross sectional view of the subassembly of FIG. 22 alongline G-G.

FIG. 26 is an exploded, quarter cut view of an alternative embodiment ofhelical rotary actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 27 is a front view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.27 along line I-I.

FIG. 29 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.27 along line H-H.

FIG. 30 is an exploded, quarter cut view of an alternative embodiment ofhelical rotary actuator of FIG. 10.

FIG. 31 is a front view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 30.

FIG. 32 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.31 along line K-K.

FIG. 33 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.30 along line J-J.

FIG. 34 is an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of helicalrotary actuator of FIG. 30.

FIG. 35 is a front view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a cross sectional view of the helical rotary actuator of FIG.35 along line L-L.

REFERENCE NUMBER IN DRAWING

-   10 Single Helical Converter a,b,c,d,e,f,h-   11 body a,b,c,d-   12 Converting piston, a,b,c,d-   13 Shaft, a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h-   14 Centric section, a,b,c,d-   15 Eccentric section, a,b,c,d-   16 Centric bore, a,b,c,d-   17 Eccentric bore a,b,c,d-   18 Helical internal teeth, a,b,d-   19 helical external teeth a,b,d-   18 Helical groove, c-   19 Helical groove pin, c,-   20 Double Helical converter a,b,f-   21 Body, a,b,f-   22,22′ Converting piston a,b,f-   23 Shaft, a,b,f-   24 Centric section a,b,f-   25,25′ Eccentric section a,b,f-   26,26′ Centric bore a,b,f-   27,27′ Eccentric bore a,b,f-   28,28′ Helical internal teeth a,b,f-   29 29′ Helical external teeth a,b,f-   1 Support ring e,f,g,h-   4 Centric section, e,f,g,h-   5 Eccentric section, e,f,g,h-   6 Centric bore e,f,g,h-   9 Retaining ring g-   2 Helical teeth ring, e,f,g,h-   3 Shaft e,f,g,h-   7 Eccentric bore, e,f,g,h-   8 Set of Balls-   100 Helical Actuator, a,b,c,d,e,g-   A port, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7-   B Port, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7-   101′,101 Body,-   102′,102 Centric bore,-   103′,103 Eccentric bore-   104′,104 body end-   105 Horizontal Passageway-   106 Spherical external surface-   107 Cylindrical External surface-   108′,108 Groove-   109′,109 End Vertical surface-   110′,110 End Horizontal surface-   111 End Spherical surface-   112 Out-vertical surface-   113 Horizontal surface-   117 Inter-vertical surface-   120 Center chamber-   121′,121 Side chamber,-   122′,122 Helical internal teeth right-   123′,123 Helical internal teeth left-   124 Spherical external surface-   125 Thread hold-   126 Bolt hole-   127 hole-   128 hole-   129 O ring groove-   140 Shaft-   141′,141 External helical teeth,-   142-   143 Centric section-   144 Eccentric section-   145′,145 end-   146 keyway-   147 center hole-   148′,148 Side hole-   160 O ring-   161 Oring-   162 Oring-   163 Oring-   164 Oring-   165 Spherical bearing-   166 bolt-   190 Spherical supporter-   191 Shell plate-   192 Recess surface-   193 Thread hole-   130″,130 Converting piston-   131′,131 Groove-   132′,132 Centric section-   133′,133 Eccentric section-   134′,134 Internal helical teeth-   135′,135 External helical teeth-   136′,136 Piston inward surface-   137′,137 Piston outward surface-   138′,138 Link hole-   139′,139 bore-   150 Spherical Cover-   151 Spherical internal surface-   152 Out-Vertical surface-   153 Horizontal surface-   154 Spherical external surface-   155 End Vertical surface-   156 Shaft hole-   157 Inter-Vertical surface-   158 Flat cover-   159 O ring groove-   170 Vane cover-   171 Vane-   172 Piston land-   173 Inward port-   174 Outward port-   175 vane Key-   176 Middle ring-   177 hole-   178 Inside surface-   179 Outside surface-   197 Link port-   198 recess-   180 Conical step-   181 Conical surface-   182 Conical surface-   183 Vane chamber-   184 Vane chamber-   185′, 185 Slot-   186 plug-   187 setscrew-   188 Flat screw-   189 spring-   195 Vane land-   196 groove

Description

FIGS. 10-14 illustrate a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 abased on helical linear/rotary converting mechanism 20 a constructed inaccordance with the present invention. The actuator 100 a comprises abody 101 a having an eccentric bore 103 a, two centric bores 102 a,102a′ and pistons 130 a,130 a′, a shaft 140 a is movably disposed inpistons 130 a,130 a′, body 101 a is covered by a spherical cover 150 aand a flat cover 158 a and has standard ports A1, B1 which includes portsize and distance between port A1, B1 and respectively connected to apressurized fluid and a sink fluid (not shown), the actuator 100 a isprovided for rotary movements.

Pistons 130 a,130 a′ are axially opposed and respectively have sections132 a, 133 a movably engaged with bores 102 a, 103 a and sections 132a′, 133 a′ movably engaged with bores 102 a′,103 a in an oppositedirection. Pistons 130 a,130 a′ also include internal helical teeth 134a,134 a′ in inner surfaces to operatively engage with sections 141 a,141a′ of the shaft 140 a, a center chamber 120 a is provided between inwardsurfaces 136 a, 136 a′ and bore 103 a and is connected to port B1 and togrooves 131 a,131 a′ through gaps between teeth 134 a and 141 a, teeth134 a′and 141 a′ and link holes 138 a,138 a′, while side chambers 121a,121 a′ are defined respectively by cover 150 a, an outward surface 137a and bore 102 a and by cover 158 a, an outward surface 137 a′ and bore102 a′ and connected to port Al through a passageway 105 and grooves 108a,108 a′.

Cover 150 a is mounted on a left side of shaft 140 a and has a firstvertical surface 152 a, spherical surface 151 a, a second verticalsurface 157 a and a horizontal surface 153 a with an o ring groove 159a, body 101 a has a first vertical surface 112 a, a spherical surface111 a, a second vertical surface 117 a with an o ring groove 129 a andhorizontal surface 110 a, a spherical bearing 165 a is placed betweensurfaces 151 a and 111 a for providing a bearing and a seal, whileo-rings 160 a and 161 a are respectively placed in groove 129 a andgroove 159 a for providing a vertical seal and a horizontal seal betweencover 150 a and body 101 a.

Referring to FIGS. 15-19, a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 bbased on fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 a comprises aspherical body 101 b, pistons 130 b,130 b′, a shaft 140 b is movablydisposed in pistons 130 b,130 b′, body 101 b is covered by two sphericalcovers 150 b, 150 b′ and has standard ports A2, B2 which includes portsize and distance between port A2, B2 and respectively connected to apressurized fluid and a sink fluid (not shown), there are other optionalports A3, B3 respectively connected to a pressurized fluid and a sinkfluid (not shown), the actuator 100 b is provided for rotary movements.

A center chamber 120 b is connected to port B2 through hole 147 b, whileside chambers 121 b, 124 b′ are connected to port A2 through holes 148b,148 b′ and grooves 108 b,108 b′. Covers 150 b,150 b′ are mountedrespectively on a left side and a right side of shaft 140 b, a holder190 b has a cylindrical bar extended to shell 191 b with a sphericalrecess 192 b to receive actuator 100 b for securing a pre-set position,holes 193 b and thread holes 125 b are provided for bolting betweenactuator 100 b and holder 190 b.

Referring to FIG. 20-25, a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 cbased on fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 a comprises a body101 c, pistons 130 c,130 c′, two vanes 171 c and two vane covers 170 c,a shaft 140 c is movably disposed in pistons 130 c,130 c′, vanes 171 cand vane covers 170 c, body 101 c is covered by two covers 158 c, 158 c′and has standard ports A4, B4 which includes size port and distancebetween ports A4, B4 respectively connected to a pressurized fluid and asink fluid (not shown). the actuator 100 c is provided for rotarymovements.

Pistons 130 c,130 c′ are axially opposed, movably disposed in body 101 csince the left piston 130 c is as the same as the right piston 130 c′,only the left side piston is described here, two vane chambers 183 c and184 c are defined by piston 130 c, vane cover 170 c, vane 171 c, a vaneland 195 c of vane 171 c and a piston land 172 c of piston 130 c, acenter chamber 120 c is connected to vane chamber 183 c through gapsbetween shaft 140 c and piston 130 c, radial hole 138 c and axial hole173 c and a slot 185 c′, while a side chamber 121 c is connected tochamber 184 c through hole 174 c, slot 185 c, vane 171 c is coupled withshaft 140 c by keyway 146 c and key 175 c.

Referring to FIG. 26-29, a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 dbased on fluid powered helical rotary actuator 20 a comprises a body 101d having a left closed end except a shaft hole 127 d and a right endwith a centric bore 102 d to receive a middle ring 176 d, pistons 130d,130 d′, a shaft 140 d is movably disposed in pistons 130 d,130 d′ andmiddle ring 176 d, body 101 d is covered by cover 158 d and has standardports A5, B5 which includes port size and distance between ports A5 andB5 respectively connected to a pressurized fluid and a sink fluid (notshown), the actuator 100 d is provided for rotary movements.

Middle ring 176 d is axially placed between pistons 130 d,130 d′ and hasa centric outside surface 179 d and an eccentric inside surface 178 d.Pistons 130 d,130 d′ have respectively centric sections 132 d,132 d′engaged with bore 102 d and eccentric sections 133 d,133 d′ engaged witheccentric surface 178 d. Pistons 130 d,130 d′ also include internalhelical teeth 134 d,134 d′ in inner surfaces to operatively engage withexternal helical teeth 141 d,141 d′ of the shaft 140 d. Middle ring 176d also includes three radial holes 177 d,177 d′ and is secured by twoscrews 187 d through holes 177 d, conical tips of two screws 187 d areengaged with conical surfaces of 182 d,182 d′ for controlling inwardpositions of pistons 103 d ,103 d′, two screws 188 d are threadedthrough cover 158 d for controlling outward positions of piston of 130d, hole 176 d′ is linked between port B5 and inside surface 178 d .

Referring to FIG. 30-33, a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 ebased on fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 a comprises a pair ofsplit bodies 101 e,101 e′ to receive a middle ring 176 e and pistons 130e,130 e′, bodies 101 e,101 e′ respectively have centric bores 102 e,102e′ and eccentric bores 103 e,103 e′, pistons 130 e,130 e′ are axiallyopposed and respectively have sections 132 e,133 e engaged with bores102 e,103 e and sections 132 e′,133 e′ engaged with bores 102 e′, 103e′, a shaft 140 e is movably disposed in pistons 130 e,130 e′ and middlering 176 e, split bodies 101 e,101 e′ are secured by four of bolts 166 eand sealed by o-ring 164 e, bodies 101 e,101 e′ have standard ports A6,B6 which includes size port and distance between port A6, B6respectively connected to a pressurized fluid and a sink fluid (notshown), the actuator 100 e is provided for rotary movements.

Pistons 130 e,130 e′ are axially opposed, movably disposed in bodies 101e,101 e′, a center chamber 120 e is connected to port B6, while sidechamber 121 e,121 e′ are connected to port A6 through a passageway 105 eand grooves 108 e,108 e′, body 101 e has two holes 128 e, two screws 187e are respectively threaded through holes 128 e and engaged with conicalsurfaces 181 e,181 e′ defined by ring 176 e and piston 130 e forcontrolling an inward position of pistons of 130 e,130 e′, screws 188 eare threaded through cover 158 e for controlling outward positions ofpiston 130 e and are secured by plugs 186 e.

Referring to FIG. 34-36, a fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 gbased on fluid powered helical rotary actuator 100 e comprises a pair ofsplit bodies 101 g,101 g′, spring set 189 g, pistons 130 g,130 g′, ashaft 140 g is movably disposed in pistons 130 g,130 g′ and a spring set189 g, split bodies 101 g,101 g′ are secured by four of bolts 166 g andsealed by o-ring 164 g, the pair of split bodies 101 g,101 g′ hasstandard ports A7, B7 which includes size of port and distance betweenports A7,B7 respectively connected to a pressurized fluid and a sinkfluid (not shown), the actuator 100 g is provided for rotary movements.

Bodies 101 g,101 g′ respectively have centric bores 102 g,102 g′ andeccentric bores 103 g,103 g′, pistons 130 g,130 g′ are axially opposedand have respectively sections 132 g,133 g and sections 132 g′,133 g′engaged with bores 102 g, 103 g and bores 102 g′ and 103 g′, the springset 189 g is placed between pistons 130 g and 130 g′ for spring return.

Operations

For the mechanisms 10 a, assume that piston 12 a is inserted into body11 a by engaging between sections 14 a,15 a, and bores 16 a,17 a with aclearance fit, then shaft 13 a is inserted into piston 12 a by engagingbetween helical teeth 19 a and helical teeth 18 s with a clearance fit,piston 12 a tends to rotate under axial force, but since there is anoffset between bores 16 a,17, the offset only allows piston 12 a to movelinearly but prevents piston 12 a from rotation, as a result, thehelical teeth 18 a on piston 12 a forces helical teeth 19 a as well asthe shaft 13 a to rotate, in case of mechanisms 10 c, 10 d, onlydifference is the helical converting means.

For the mechanisms 10 b, assume that piston 12 b is inserted into body11 b by engaging between helical teeth 19 b and helical teeth 18 b witha clearance fit then shaft 13 b is inserted into piston 12 b by engagingbetween sections 14 b,15 b, and bores 16 b,17 b with a clearance fit,piston 12 b rotates under axial forces, since there is an offset betweenbores 16 b, 17 b, as a result, the offset force shaft 130 b to rotatealong with the piston 12 b.

For mechanisms 20 a, assume that shaft 23 a is inserted into body 21 a,then piston 22 a is inserted into ring 21 a from the left side byengaging between sections 24 a, 25 a, and bores 26 a,27 a with aclearance fit and between helical left teeth 29 a and left helical teeth28 a, then piston 22 a′ is inserted into body 21 a from the right sideby engaging between sections 24 a′, 25 a′ and bores 26 a′,27 a with aclearance fit and between right helical teeth 29 a′ and right helicalteeth 28 a′, two equal but opposite forces are applied inwardly andoutwardly to piston 22 a and 22 a′, piston 22 a tends to rotate underaxial forces, but since there is an offset between bores 26 a,27 a, theoffset only allow piston 22 a to move linearly but prevents piston 22 afrom rotation, as a result, the helical teeth 28 a on piston 22 a forceshelical teeth 29 a as well as the shaft 23 a to rotate clockwise, whilepiston 22 a′ tends to rotate under axial forces, but since there is anoffset between bores 26 a′,27 a′, the offset allows piston 22 a′ to movelinearly but prevents piston 22 a′ from rotation, as a result, thehelical teeth 28 a′ on piston 22 a′ forces helical teeth 29 a′ as wellas shaft 23 a rotate the clockwise due to opposite direction betweenteethes of 29 a,28 a and 29 a′,28 a′, so the axial forces balances onshaft 23 a.

For the mechanisms 20 b, the balance mechanism is the same as themechanism 20 a, while the operation is the same as mechanism 10 b

For actuator 100 a, assume that shaft 140 a is inserted into body 101 a,then piston 130 a is inserted into body 101 a from the left side byengaging between sections 132 a,133 a, and bores 102 a,103 a with aclearance fit and between helical teeth 134 a and helical teeth 141 a,then piston 130 a′ is inserted into body 101 a from the right side byengaging between sections 132 a′,133 a′ and bores 102 a′,103 a with aclearance fit and between helical teeth 134 a′ and helical teeth 141 a′.

Port A1 and port B1 are respectively connected to a pressurized fluidsource/a fluid sink (not shown), there is no movement of the piston 130a,130 a′ or that of shaft 140 a. When a pressurized flow fluid isallowed to enter to chamber 121 a,121 a′ through port A1, then spiltinto two flows into passageways 105 a, then into grooves 108 a,108 a′,the flow fluids provide sufficient pressure against pistons 130 a, 103a′ from outward surfaces 137 a,137 a′, while fluids in chambers 120 athrough B1 connected to the fluid sink have a lower pressure, sopressure differentials generate two equal but opposite forces againstpistons 130 a,130 a′ inwardly and cause inward movements of two pistons130 a,130 a′ in a synchronized manner, so shaft 140 a is balanced in theaxial direction, because of offset engagement between body 101 a andpiston 130 a,130 a′, piston 130 a,130 a′ are only allowed to movelinearly, as a result, the helical teeth 134 a on piston 130 a and teeth134 a′ in piston 130 a′ force helical teeth 141 a, 141 a′ as well as theshaft 140 a to rotate clockwise. On the contrary, when the connectionsof ports Al and port B1 with the fluid source/the fluid sink areswitched, the conditions of flow fluids are reversed, shaft 140 a isrotated anti-clockwise.

For the actuator 100 a installed in between vertical and horizontalpositions, the gravity force or an external axial force is applied tocover 150 a and shaft 140 a, in turn cover 150 a will distribute theload into bearing 165 a and body 101 a evenly due to the sphericalsurface engagement, then shaft 140 a distribute the torsion evenly totwo pistons 130 a,130 a′ due to the balanced arrangement of pistons 1301a,130 a′.

For actuator 100 b, it can be used as a combination of a hinge and anactuator, actuator 100 b can installed in any position and sustain greatbending as well as axial force due to spherical shape of body and coverwhich can cancel out most of non axial force, it also can be easily usedfor connecting other dimensional rotary device.

For actuator 100 c, when a backlash is not allowed, actuator 100 c canbe used, by nature a vane actuator has no backlash, actuator 100 c basedon 100 a can be modified by adding two the same vane actuators on bothends of pistons 130 c,103 c′. Ports A4, B4 are respectively connected toa pressurized fluid source/a fluid sink (not shown), there is nomovement of the pistons 130 c,130 c′, or that of shaft 140 c. When apressurized flow fluid is allowed to enter to chamber 121 c,121 c′through port A4, then spilt into two flows into passageways 105 c, thenthrough hole 174 c, slot 185 c into vane chamber 184 c, the flow fluidsprovide sufficient pressure against land 195 c which is keyed with shaft140 c by key 175 c and keyway 146 c, while low pressure fluids in vanechambers 183 c enters chamber 120 c through holes 173 c,138 c andengagement gaps between shaft 140 c and piston 130 c, in turn, chamber120 c is connected to the fluid sink, so pressure differentials forceslands 195 c as well as shaft 140 c to rotate clockwise. On the contrary,when the connections of ports A4 and port B4 with the fluid source/thefluid sink are switched, the conditions of flow fluids are reversed,shaft 140 c is rotated anti-clockwise.

For actuator 100 d which can be used when precision rotary position isrequired, piston 130 d,130 d are placed in center of body 101 d, twoscrews 187 d are threaded in holes 128 d,177 d with conical tips engagedwith both conical surfaces 182 d,182 d′, by rotating the screw 182 d,182d′, inward movement of pistons 130 d,130 d′ are controlled to a presetposition, on the outward sides, two flat tip screws 188 d are threadedthrough cover 158 d, by rotating the screw 188 d,188 d′, outwardmovement of pistons 130 d,130 d′ are controlled for a pre-set positionof shaft 140 d.

For actuator 100 e, assume that ring 176 e is pressed into piston 130 e,then two pistons 130 e,130 e′ are placed from both ends of shaft 140 e,then two bodies 101 e,101 e′ are placed from both ends of shaft 140 e byaligning up between hole 128 e, conical surfaces 181 d,182 d and securedby bolts 166 e. Port A6 and port B6 are respectively connected to apressurized fluid source/a fluid sink (not shown), there is no movementof the piston 130 e,130 e′ or that of shaft 140 e. When a pressurizedflow fluid is allowed to enter to chamber 121 e,121 e′ through port A6,then spilt into two flows into passageways 105 e, then into grooves 108e,108 e′, the flow fluids provide sufficient pressure against pistons130 e, 130 e′, while fluids in chambers 120 e through port B6 connectedto the fluid sink have a lower pressure, so pressure differentials movepistons 130 e,130 e′ inwardly in a synchronized manner then make shaft140 e to rotate clockwise. On the contrary, when the connections ofports A6 and port B6 with the fluid source/the fluid sink are switched,the conditions of flow fluids are reversed, shaft 140 e is rotatedanti-clockwise.

For actuator 100 g which can be used for single acting application, topand bottom is interchangeable for fail closed and fail open of valvecontrol without changing any part, assume that one set of springs 189 gis placed into shaft 140 g, then two pistons 130 g,130 g′ are placedfrom both ends of shaft 140 g, then two bodies 101 g,101 g′ are placedfrom both ends of shaft 140 g and secured by bolts 166 g. Port Alandport Blare respectively connected to a pressurized fluid source/a fluidsink (not shown), there is no movement of the piston 130 g,130 g′ orthat of shaft 140 e. When a pressurized flow fluid is allowed to enterto chamber 121 g,121 g′ through port A7, then split into two flows intopassageways 105 g, then into grooves 108 g,108 g′, the flow fluidsprovide sufficient pressure against pistons 130 g,130 g′, while fluidsin chambers 120 g through port B7 connected to the fluid sink have alower pressure, so pressure differentials move pistons 130 g,130 g′inwardly in a synchronized manner then make shaft 140 g to rotateclockwise and compress springs 189 g. On the contrary, when theconnections of ports A7 loses pressure, the pressure differentialsdisappears, the compressed springs force pistons 130 g,130 g′ to moveoutward and make shaft 140 g rotated anti-clockwise.

Advantages

From the description above, a number of advantage of some embodiments ofmy helical rotary actuator become evident:

-   (1) high efficiency, with double effective areas of pistons, balance    design, this embodiment increase the efficiency of helical rotary    actuator from about 60%-70% to 85-95, with less materials and    weights, smaller size, it opens the door to the low pressure    pneumatic actuators market against rack and pinion and vane    actuators-   (2) a balanced thrust, the thrust is fully balanced on the shaft    without any bearing under both inward and outward pressures, so    under no time, the piston bears any external axial load, both the    body and shaft take external side or axial loads evenly, so the    piston can generates more torque than any helical actuator and last    longer, the other benefit is vibration proof, due to left and right    pistons work in an opposite direction, any axial movement will not    change rotation position of shaft as long as there is no the    relative position change between the left and right positions.-   (3) no backlashes, first the dual center engagement does not add any    axial clearance, second the left helical teeth and right helical    teeth works against each other and cancel out any clearance in the    axial direction, finally the piston with the vane actuator    completely eliminate any backlashes structurally-   (4) No high stress concentration on the body, with the dual center    engagement, the body no longer has high stress concentration on the    wall without the teeth or shape spline, it greatly reduce the wall    thickness of the body and increase safety of the body and meet the    pressure vessel standards for critical applications-   (5)free installation position, with spherical joint between body and    cover, balanced thrust, the invention provides an actuator which can    be installed between any position between vertical and horizontal    positions.-   (6) precision position control, with conical and flat surfaces    engagements devices, both inward and outward positions are fully    controlled, now this actuator can be used for a critical    applications such as military equipment, robotic devices and valve    control-   (7) versatile interface functions, most of the actuator bodies are    cylindrical shape, such a shape is difficult for three dimensional    joint-   (8) high reliability, without high stress concentration on the body,    high tension on the piston and balanced thrust on the shaft, this    actuator has highest safety design over all existing helical rotary    actuators, in addition, the dual independent pistons, porting    systems provide redundant functions, if a left piston fails, the    right piston still functions independently, it can be used for    airplane landing gears or linear piston with pivot joint in the    construction machines or lift equipment.-   (9) optimized structural design (a) spherical body can sustain high    structural bending and compression loads, it can be used for    stand-along or combine with additional actuator for 2 D or 3 D    position control (b) material comparability with design, now    material for body can be different from that of teeth rings for    design or application purpose, so teeth ring can be heat treated or    hardened, while body can be ductile with anti wearing coating in ID    wearing resistance, so it sustains high pressure on body and high    compression and wearing on ID surface and does not scarify any    design requirement and greatly increase the life of the product.-   (10) Easy and low cost manufacturing, the dual-center mechanism with    two pair of simple cyclical bore/sections engagements greatly reduce    manufacturing and assembly cost and time at least by 50%, an axial    distance adjustment becomes much easy, most of all, helical teeth    ring can be replaced without replacing the body or shaft, with    middle ring with eccentric surfaces, even the offset machining    becomes simpler, moreover, teeth ring can be pre-made, only left is    ID or OD,-   (11) Standard input and out port, the novel internal port system    makes standardized the port size and distance between inlet port and    outlet port possible, it reduces adaptor and tube, but also    increases the reliability of the connection, the ports can be    directly connected with counterbalanced valve, two way to four way    solenoid valve without tube or adaptors.

Conclusion, Ramifications and Scope

The dual-center engagement mechanism in helical rotary actuatorcompletely changes the rotary/linear converting concept and providesbreakthrough performances and advantages over all existing rotaryactuators (1) simplicity, two simple cylindrical engagement with anoffset, but magically much better than the conventional helicalactuators either have complicated dual internal and external helicalteeth on piston or external spline and internal helical on the piston,more effective areas for axial forces than that of conventional helicalactuators, the double center engagement can be arranged as example ofmechanism 20 a, A left offset+A center+A right offset, so the leftoffset can be balanced the right left offset within the body under axialforces, or A centric+An offset+A centric, such a arrangement can reducemachining, or simple a centric bore with middle ring with a centric ODand an eccentric ID like mechanism 100 d (2) robust, there is nodetrimental features on the body, two cylindrical engagement convert thetorsion from the piston to compression, such a compression structuregreatly increase the body ability for holding the torque than any othermethods on the conventional helical actuators while no space waste forkeyway or helical or spline teeth or seals, in case of high cycleoperation, there is no one location standing high impact force on thebody unlike the conventional helical actuator, the impact force canenlarged the small fraction on teeth on the body and cause body buster.(3) compact, since there is no external helical teeth, the internalteeth diameter on piston can be made bigger with the size of theconventional helical piston, since there is no keyway or spline teeth,the seal groove can be on any place on the piston, it reduce at 50%length of the conventional helical actuator requires. (4) synergy,without the dual-center engagement mechanism, no full thrust balance cansucceed, as the readers look back the history of helical actuator, as itevolves, no truly balance structure has been succeed, the reason is thatthe conventional helical actuator without an axial balance mechanism isalready too longer at least twice as longer than that of the dual-centerengagement mechanism actuator, if other half is added, it will be atfour time longer than the dual-center engagement mechanism actuator, itis away beyond design scope in term of strength, stability andconcentricity, and it is difficult to make, with dual-center engagementmechanism, fully balance helical actuator is about the same as theconventional one piston helical actuator

Each of embodiments of the present invention provides each advantage,each unique solution and each special modular structure to solve eachproblem existing for very long time, there are three interface elements,body where to hold, shaft where to rotate, fluid port where to getenergy for operation, with all existing problem in mind (1) mechanism100 a is used as a hinge with rotary actuator in many lift equipment anddeal with installation issue between vertical and horizontal positions,it provide a novel sandwich three seals, vertical o ring and horizontalo ring and conical or spherical bearing, which made out soft metals likebronze, or engineering plastics like peek to provide a seal between thecover and the body and, a bearing function to shift the load from thecover and shaft to the body to the body, the triple seals secure a soundsealing function in any rotation position between vertical andhorizontal positions, when it is installed in vertical position, or ahorizontal position or between the vertical seal or horizontal seal withno or a bit effect of gravity for seal due to spherical or conicalengagement between the cover and body, while spherical bearing play akey to swift gravity load to the body as well for hard seal (2)mechanism 100 b dealt with adaptability issue, it is used for providing360 degree rotation, it is breakthrough in term of usage, it can sustainvery high compression load or bending load, three of them combine canprovide any three dimension position due to the spherical joint betweencover and body, it can be used as robotic arm joint to replace linearpiston with a pivot joint device or artificial arm or leg joint with alinear piston arm or leg, it can be used as a self motored hydraulicwheel for at 360 degree rotation (3) mechanism 100 c dealt with backlashissue, the backlash causes loss of control of position, damage of outputshaft or other piston or body and weakens joint between actuator andother connected part and is a nightmare for control engineers, with aconventional helical actuator, it is impossible to eliminate thebacklash, or loss motion, because two sets of clearance between the bodyand piston, piston and shaft are caused by one piece of the piston, butwith this embodiment, the two teeth engagements are separated by twopistons, there is no cumulative clearance, moreover actuator 100 csolves the problem by adding two vane actuator on both sides, by nature,vane actuator has no backlash, the helical actuator provide aconverting, rigid torque, the torque is not susceptible to an inletpressure frustrations, while the vane actuator provides a soft directtorque without converting or delay, when the actuator start to rotatethe shaft, a combination soft and rigid torques provides a smooth,backlash free rotation movement, by changing size of hole 174 c vanetorque can be either reduced or increased, moreover the vane actuatorcan be used as a damper when actuator acts too fast, this combination ofvane actuation and two pistons arrangement solution surpass all previousefforts (4) mechanism 100 d is used for applications like rotary valveactuation, it is required a body bottom connection with a valve forprecision position, inward position control is provided with a pair ofconical tips of screws, outward position are controlled by two flat tipscrews, since the piston is not rotated unlike conventional helicalactuator (5) mechanism 100 e is used for lager torque output withlimited axial space and precision position, with split bodies, thediameter of helical teeth can be made much larger without wasting lotmaterial, since they are symmetric, it reduce the casting or forgingmould cost, other application is used for spring return, it saves lot ofmoney by reducing haft the spring sets in comparison with theconventional helical actuator with spring return devices, specially insubsea rotary valve applications, light weight, easy installation,versatility are the key requirements for a diver to install a valvesystem, the other advantage is top and button of connection can beinterchanged for fail closed or fail open applications without changingany part.

Although the description above contains many specifications, theseshould not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but asmerely providing illustration of some of the presently preferredembodiments of this invention.

Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

I claim:
 1. An actuation module comprising; (a) A body assembly having abody; (b) A shaft assembly having a shaft; (c) A conversion-transmissionassembly having one of a plurality of configurations including; (c1)Said conversion-transmission assembly positioned between said shaftassembly and said body assembly having a helical movement convertingmechanism and a movable piston, said helical movement convertingmechanism including a helical engagement for providing conversionsbetween reciprocal movements and rotary movements and a reactionaryengagement for generating reactionary torques, said helical movementconverting mechanism is defined by one of a plurality of arrangementsinducing said helical engagement between said piston and said shaft, andsaid reactionary engagement between said piston and said body, said bodyhas a front cylindrical bore defined by a fixed, centric axis and a backcylindrical bore defined by a fixed eccentric axis, parallel to saidfixed centric axis, said piston has two mated cylindrical sectionsengaged respectively with said front centric bore and said backeccentric bore of said body for providing said reactionary engagement,said helical movement converting mechanism is defined by one of aplurality of structures including a helix spline/helix spline structureand a helix spline/non-helix spline structure, said shaft has helicalsplines, said piston has mated helical splines engaged with said helicalsplines of said shaft for providing said helical engagement, wherebysaid body, said piston and said shaft having a conversion means forproviding conversions between reciprocal movements of said piston androtatory movements of said shaft, and a non-friction reaction means forgenerating reactionary compression forces with said axises against saidshaft; (c2) Said conversion-transmission assembly positioned betweensaid shaft assembly and said body assembly having helical movementconverting mechanisms, a right movable piston and a left movable piston,said helical movement converting mechanism including a helicalengagement for providing conversions between reciprocal movements androtary movements and a reactionary engagement for generating reactionarytorques, said helical movement mechanism is defined by one of aplurality of arrangements inducing said helical engagement between saidpistons and said shaft, and said reactionary engagement between saidpistons and said body, said body has a right, cylindrical bore and atleast one middle cylindrical bore respectively defined by a fixedcentric axis, a fixed eccentric axis parallel to said fixed centric axisand a left cylindrical bore and said middle cylindrical borerespectively defined by said fixed centric axis and said fixed eccentricaxis, said right piston has two mated cylindrical sections engagedrespectively with said right bore and said middle bore of said body forproviding said reactionary engagement, said left piston has two matedcylindrical sections engaged respectively with said left bore and saidmiddle bore of said body for providing said reactionary engagement, saidhelical movement converting mechanism is defined by one of a pluralityof structures including a helix spline/helix spline structure, and ahelix spline/non-helix spline structure, said shaft has right helicalsplines and left helical splines, said right piston has mated righthelical splines engaged with said right helical splines of said shaftfor providing said helical engagement, said left piston has mated lefthelical splines engaged with said left helical splines of said shaft forproviding said helical engagement, whereby said body, said pistons andsaid shaft having a conversion means for providing conversions betweenreciprocal movements of said pistons and rotatory movements of saidshaft, and a non-friction reaction means for generating reactionarycompression forces with said axises against said shaft and a balancemeans for balancing side loads on said left helical splines of saidshaft engaged with said right piston with side forces on said lefthelical splines on said shaft engaged with said right piston; (d) Aporting system including one of a plurality of arrangements having; (d1)said body porting including a port 1 and a port 2 and a right groove ofsaid right bore and a left groove of said left bore on said body, saidport 1 is expanding respectively to said right groove on said right boreand said left groove on said right bore of said body, said right grooveconnecting to a right chamber with an outward surface of said rightpiston, said left groove connecting to a left chamber with an outwardsurface of said left piston, said port 2 is through a wall of said bodyinto a middle chamber with an inward surface of said left piston and aninward surface of said right piston; (d2) said shaft porting includingan axial port 3 and an axial port 4 on said shaft, said body having aright groove of said right bore and a left groove of said left bore,said port 3 is respectively expending to a right radial hole to connectto said right groove into a right chamber with an outward surface ofsaid right piston and a left radial hole to connect to said left grooveinto a left chamber with an outward surface of said left piston, saidport 4 of said shaft is expanding through a middle hole into a middlechamber with an inward surface of said left piston and an inward surfaceof said right piston; (d3) said hybrid porting including a body portingand a shaft porting, said body porting including a port 1 and a port 2and a right groove of said right bore and a left groove of said leftbore on said body, said port 1 is expanding respectively to said rightgroove and said left groove, said right groove connecting to a rightchamber with an outward surface of said right piston, said left grooveconnecting to a left chamber with an outward surface of said leftpiston, said port 2 is through a wall of said body into a middle chamberwith an inward surface of said left piston and an inward surface of saidright piston, said shaft porting including an axial port 3 and an axialport 4 on said shaft, said port 3 of said shaft is respectivelyexpending to a right radial hole to connect to said right groove intosaid right chamber with said inward surface of said right piston and toa left radial hole to connect to said left groove into said left chamberwith said outward surface of said left piston, said port 4 of said shaftis expanding through a middle hole into said middle chamber with saidinward surface of said left piston and said inward surface of said rightpiston.
 2. The actuation module of claim 1, said body assembly furtherincluding at least one cover assembly, said cover assembly has a cover,at least one bearing, at least one vertical O-ring and at least onehorizontal O-ring, said bearing having an extremal surface and aninternal surface respectively defined by one of a plurality of profilesincluding a spherical profile and a conical prolife, said body having anedge on said right bore, said edge is defined by a mated externalsurface engaged with said conical internal surface of said bearing, saidcover is defined by an internal mated surface engaged with said externalconical surface of said bearing, a vertical O-ring groove and ahorizontal O-ring groove are respectively defined between said edge andsaid cover, said vertical O-ring is disposed in said vertical groove,said horizontal O-ring is placed in said horizontal groove, whereby saidcover assembly, and said body having a sealing means for providing sealsbetween said body and said cover at any installed position, and abearing means for supporting loads at any installed position.
 3. Theactuation module of claim 1, wherein said piston is structured with oneof a plurality of materials including a magnetic material, aluminumbronze, ductile iron, said bearing is structured with one of a pluralityof materials including a magnetic material, aluminum, nylon, copper. 4.The actuation module of claim 1, wherein said piston is structured withone of a plurality of materials including a magnetic material, aluminumbronze, ductile iron, said bearing is structured with one of a pluralityof materials including a magnetic material, aluminum, nylon, copper. 5.The actuation module of claim 1, said body assembly further including aposition control assembly having a left screw threaded into a left sideof said body assembly for controlling outward positions of said leftpiston, a right screw threaded into a right side of said body assemblyfor controlling outward positions of said right piston, at least onemiddle screw threaded in said body having a conical end to controlinward positions of said left piston and inward positions of said rightpiston.
 6. The actuation module of claim 1, said body assembly furtherincluding a right set spring against said right piston and a left setspring against said left piston, whereby said body, said pistons andsaid shaft, said spring sets having a spring means for eliminatingbacklash between said pistons and said shaft, preventing hard hitsbetween said shaft and said pistons at stop positions, respectivelyreturning presetting positions of said pistons, controlling return speedwithout counter balance valves.
 7. The actuation module of claim 1, saidbody assembly further at least one vane assembly, said vane assemblyhaving a vane having a land, vane cover and key, said vane cover havinga link port, said land having an outward slot and an inward slot, saidshaft has a keyway, said vane is disposed between a left side of saidbody and said left piston and covered by said vane cover, a firstchamber and a second chamber are defined by said piston and said vanecover and said vane land, said first chamber is connected to said linkport, a second chamber is connected to said center chamber through saidinward slot and said axial port and said radial port and gaps betweensaid shaft and said left piston, said vane is coupled with said shaft bysaid key and said keyway of said shaft for driving said shaft.
 8. Anactuation module comprising; (a) At least one body assembly having abody; (b) At least one shaft assembly having a shaft; (c) A least oneconversion-transmission assembly having one of configurations including;(c1) A conversion-transmission assembly positioned between said shaftassembly and said body assembly having a helical movement convertingmechanism and a movable piston, said helical movement convertingmechanism including a helical engagement for providing conversionsbetween reciprocal movements and rotary movements and a reactionaryengagement for generating reactionary torques, said helical movementconverting mechanism is defined by one of a plurality of arrangementsinducing said helical engagement between said piston and said shaft, andsaid reactionary engagement between said piston and said body, said bodyhas a front cylindrical bore defined by a fixed, centric axis and a backcylindrical bore defined by a fixed eccentric axis, parallel to saidfixed centric axis, said piston has two mated cylindrical sectionsengaged respectively with said front centric bore and said backeccentric bore of said body for providing said reactionary engagement,said helical movement converting mechanism is defined by one of aplurality of structures including a helix spline/helix spline structureand a helix spline/non-helix spline structure, said shaft has helicalsplines, said piston has mated helical splines engaged with said helicalsplines of said shaft for providing said helical engagement, wherebysaid body, said piston and said shaft having a conversion means forproviding conversions between reciprocal movements of said piston androtatory movements of said shaft, and a non-friction reaction means forgenerating reactionary compression forces with said axises against saidshaft; (c2) Said conversion-transmission assembly positioned betweensaid shaft assembly and said body assembly having helical movementconverting mechanisms, a right movable piston and a left movable piston,said helical movement converting mechanism including a helicalengagement for providing conversions between reciprocal movements androtary movements and a reactionary engagement for generating reactionarytorques, said helical movement mechanism is defined by one of aplurality of arrangements inducing said helical engagement between saidpistons and said shaft, and said reactionary engagement between saidpistons and said body, said body has a right, cylindrical bore and atleast one middle cylindrical bore respectively defined by a fixedcentric axis, a fixed eccentric axis parallel to said fixed centric axisand a left cylindrical bore and said middle cylindrical borerespectively defined by said fixed centric axis and said fixed eccentricaxis, said right piston has two mated cylindrical sections engagedrespectively with said right bore and said middle bore of said body forproviding said reactionary engagement, said left piston has two matedcylindrical sections engaged respectively with said left bore and saidmiddle bore of said body for providing said reactionary engagement, saidhelical movement converting mechanism is defined by one of a pluralityof structures including a helix spline/helix spline structure, and ahelix spline/non-helix spline structure, said shaft has right helicalsplines and left helical splines, said right piston has mated righthelical splines engaged with said right helical splines of said shaftfor providing said helical engagement, said left piston has mated lefthelical splines engaged with said left helical splines of said shaft forproviding said helical engagement, whereby said body, said pistons andsaid shaft having a conversion means for providing conversions betweenreciprocal movements of said pistons and rotatory movements of saidshaft, and a non-friction reaction means for generating reactionarycompression forces with said axises against said shaft and a balancemeans for balancing side loads on said left helical splines of saidshaft engaged with said right piston, with side forces on said lefthelical splines on said shaft engaged with said right piston.
 9. Theactuation module of claim 9, wherein said module having a porting systemhaving one of a plurality of arrangements including (a) a body porting(b) a shaft porting (c) a hybrid porting; (a) Said body portingincluding a port 1 and a port 2 and a right groove of said right boreand a left groove of said left bore on said body, said port 1 is on anexternal surface of said body expanding respectively to said rightgroove on said right bore and said left groove on said right bore ofsaid body, said right groove connecting to a right chamber with anoutward surface of said right piston, said left groove connecting to aleft chamber with an outward surface of said left piston, said port 2 isthrough a wall of said body into a middle chamber with an inward surfaceof said left piston and an inward surface of said right piston; (b) Saidshaft porting including an axial port 3 and an axial port 4 on saidshaft, said body having a right groove of said right bore and a leftgroove of said left bore, said port 3 is expending to a right radialhole to connect to said right groove into a right chamber with anoutward surface of said right piston and a left radial hole to connectto said left groove into a left chamber with an outward surface of saidleft piston, said port 4 of said shaft is expanding to a middle holeinto a middle chamber with an inward surface of said left piston and aninward surface of said right piston; (c) Said hybrid porting including abody porting and a shaft porting, said body porting including a port 1and a port 2 and a right groove of said right bore and a left groove ofsaid left bore on said body, said port 1 is on an external surface ofsaid body expanding respectively to said right groove and said leftgroove on said right bore of said body, said right groove connecting toa right chamber with an outward surface of said right piston, said leftgroove connecting to a left chamber with an outward surface of said leftpiston, said port 2 is through a wall of said body into a middle chamberwith an inward surface of said left piston and an inward surface of saidright piston, said shaft porting having an axial port 3 and an axialport 4, said port 3 of said shaft is expending to a right radial hole toconnect to said right groove into said right chamber with said inwardsurface of said right piston and a left radial hole to connect to saidleft groove into said left chamber with said outward surface of saidleft piston, said port 4 of said shaft is expanding to a middle holeinto said middle chamber with said inward surface of said left pistonand said inward surface of said right piston.
 10. The actuation moduleof claim 9, where said body assembly including at least one coverassembly, said cover assembly has a cover, at least one bearing, atleast one vertical O-ring and at least one horizontal O-ring, saidbearing is defined by one of a plurality of profiles including aspherical profile and a conical prolife, said body having an edge onsaid right bore, said edge is defined by a mated external surfaceengaged with said conical bearing, said cover is defined by an internalmated surface engaged with said conical bearing, a vertical O-ringgroove and a horizontal O-ring groove are respectively defined betweensaid edge and said cover, said vertical O-ring and is disposed in saidvertical groove, said horizontal O-ring is placed in said horizontalgroove, whereby said cover assembly, said shaft and said body having asealing means for providing seals between said body and said cover atany installed position under loads, and a bearing means for supportingloads at any installed position.
 11. An actuation module comprising; (a)A body assembly having a body; (b) A shaft assembly having a shaft; (c)A conversion-transmission assembly positioned between said shaftassembly and said body assembly having helical movement convertingmechanisms, a right movable piston and a left movable piston, saidhelical movement converting mechanism including a helical engagement forproviding conversions between reciprocal movements and rotary movementsand a reactionary engagement for generating reactionary torques, saidhelical movement mechanism is defined by one of a plurality ofarrangements inducing said helical engagement between said pistons andsaid shaft, and said reactionary engagement between said pistons andsaid body, said body has a right, cylindrical bore and at least onemiddle cylindrical bore respectively defined by a fixed centric axis, afixed eccentric axis parallel to said fixed centric axis and a leftcylindrical bore and said middle cylindrical bore respectively definedby said fixed centric axis and said fixed eccentric axis, said rightpiston has two mated cylindrical sections engaged respectively with saidright bore and said middle bore of said body for providing saidreactionary engagement, said left piston has two mated cylindricalsections engaged respectively with said left bore and said middle boreof said body for providing said reactionary engagement, said helicalmovement converting mechanism is defined by one of a plurality ofstructures including a helix spline/helix spline structure, and a helixspline/non-helix spline structure, said shaft has right helical splinesand left helical splines, said right piston has mated right helicalsplines engaged with said right helical splines of said shaft forproviding said helical engagement, said left piston has mated lefthelical splines engaged with said left helical splines of said shaft forproviding said helical engagement, whereby said body, said pistons andsaid shaft having a conversion means for providing conversions betweenreciprocal movements of said pistons and rotatory movements of saidshaft, and a non-friction reaction means for generating reactionarycompression forces with said axises against said shaft and a balancemeans for balancing side loads on said left helical splines of saidshaft engaged with said right piston, with side forces on said lefthelical splines on said shaft engaged with said right piston. (d) Aporting system including a port 1 and a port 2 and a right groove ofsaid right bore and a left groove of said left bore on said body, saidport 1 is expanding respectively to said right groove on said right boreand said left groove on said right bore of said body, said right grooveconnecting to a right chamber with an outward surface of said rightpiston, said left groove connecting to a left chamber with an outwardsurface of said left piston, said port 2 is through a wall of said bodyinto a middle chamber with an inward surface of said left piston and aninward surface of said right piston; (e) A spring assembly including aright set spring against said right piston and a left set spring againstsaid left piston, whereby said body, said pistons and said shaftassembly, said spring assembly having a spring means for eliminatingbacklash between said pistons and said shaft, preventing hard hitsbetween said shaft and said pistons at stop positions, respectivelyreturning presetting positions of said pistons, controlling return speedwithout counter balance valves. (f) A position control assembly having aleft screw threaded into a left side of said body assembly forcontrolling outward positions of said left piston, a right screwthreaded into a right side of said body assembly for controlling outwardpositions of said right piston, at least one middle screw threaded insaid body having a conical end to control inward positions of said leftpiston and inward positions of said right piston.